China has put a hold on a US request at the United Nations to ban 33 ships from ports worldwide and blacklist 27 shipping firms for helping North Korea circumvent sanctions, according to a document on Monday.

The United States presented the request on February 23 to a UN sanctions committee as part of a crackdown on smuggling of North Korean commodities, in violation of UN sanctions resolutions.

China on Friday “placed a hold on the proposals” from the United States, said the Dutch chair of the sanctions committee in a letter.